Automatic adjustable rail brace



Det. l0, 1950 A. R. scHULzE 2,525,135

' AUTOMATIC ADJUSTABLE RAIL BRACE Filed Feb. s, 194s 2 sheets-snee: 2

Patented Oct. 10, l1595*() '#QFFICE AUTOMATIC ADJUSTBLE RAIL BRACE I Arthur'R. Schulze, Johnstown, Pa., assigner to Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application February 3, 1948,1Serial No. 5,920

(Cl. 23S-292) Afor holding down the rail.

. In adjustable rail braces most commonly used .at present, the locking means are either hori- .zontal or vertical threaded boltsV and/or 'cotter l brace which does not require bolts or cotter pins for locking the brace in position.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to thefollowing specication and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my invention;

. Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is asectional .View taken on the line III-III of Figure 1;

Figure Llis aview-partly in section, showing the wedge inretracted position;

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 4 showing the wedgein a forward position; and

Figure 6 is a sectional .view taken on. the line VI-VI of Figure 4.

V; Referring more particularlyto the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a tie -plate which is provided with a seat 4 for the rail 6.,`

Vspaced from the rail, at one side thereof, is a longitudinal stop 8 which. is welded or otherwise I fastened to tie plate 2.

An. adjustable brace `Hl has oneend contacting .the` head of the yrailas shown and the other end resting onthe plate 2 Y and .extending toward the stop 8. It will. be understood that the brace l0 could be provided with side flanges thatY extend.down to the rail base. It will also be understood ,thatshouldered nonclamping boltsapplied in a well Vknown conventionahm'anner, vertically up through the tie plates, may.be..used instead ofthe inverted"U 36 and the spring clamp 40 in order to position the adjustable brace laterally but allowing auto- `"matic forward mQvement toward the raill as looseness ofi the brace may permit. The web l2 of the brace has-an opening lll therein for a purpose which will appear later. The stop 8 is arranged at` an angle to the rail 6 so that a space l5 is provided between the bottom ofthe brace itl and the stop 8, the space being wider at one end than at theother. Y A wedge I8 is provided to t in this space. The stop 8 instead of having a vertical contact face, as shown, against the f wedge l 8 may be tapered downwardly away from the wedge I8 with a corresponding contact surface on the wedge, thus preventing any accidental verticaldisplacement of the wedge. Another alternative would be to provide an overhanging rib'on stop 3. dA longitudinal opening Z0 extends substantially throughout the length of the wedge. At the narrow end'of the Wedge, a'hole 22 extends from the outside of the wedge `and communicates with the opening 2o so that a shoulder 24 is provided, the hole being considerably smaller in cross-section than the opening 2t. The brace lo is provided with a lug 25 which extends into alignment with the opening 20 as best shown in Figures 4 and 5. The end 28 of this lug 2S serves vas a transverse abutment against which bears a spring cone 3U. A spring 34 in the opening 2B extends from abutment 24 to the spring cone 30.

. Fastened to the tie plate 2 is an inverted U- shaped member^36 which extends upwardly from the tie plate into the opening Il!.` The length of the inverted U member 36 is substantially as great as the length of the opening Ill, but the opening M is considerably greater in width than the width of the inverted U 36.

The stop 8 has a slo-t 3d at its upper inner corner. A spring clip 4D, shaped as shown in Figure 2, passes through'the opening inthe inverted U member V36 with one end bearing on the base of the rail 6 and the other end being bent downwardly into the slot 38.

The device is assembled and functions as follows:

A bolt :l2 `is passed through the hole 22, the coil spring Sil, and is threaded into the spring cone 3@ with the bolt head bearing against the forward end of the wedge so that the spring is compressed, as shown in Figures 1 and 6.- The adjustable brace lo is placed over theinverted U member `363 in position against the rail 6 and the wedge I8 is placed loosely between the brace l0 and stop 8. The bolt 'is then removed permitting the spring 34 to expand between the spring cone 3@ and the abutment 24, urging the Wedge ES longitudinally of the rail toward the narrow end of the space I6, as shown in Figure 5. This movement of the wedge forces the rail brace I against the rail since the rail brace cannot move longitudinally because of the contact of the inverted U 36 with the end of the opening I4.` Transverse movementl of the brace I0 is permitted, however, by virtue of the greater width cf the opening I4. The spring clip 4I] is then inserted into the opening of the inverted U 36 into the position shown in Figure 2. This prevents disassembly of the unit in an upward direction and at the same time holds the rail 6 in the groove 4.

When a train passes over the rail 6, vibrations occur and' during this time the spring 34 will force the `wedge I8 longitudinally in the direction of the narrow width thereof, thus automatically adjusting the rail brace.

In disassembling the device, the bolt 42 is inserted through the hole 22 and threaded into the spring cone so that the spring is compressed between the cone 3Q and the shoulder 24. The spring clip is then pried loose with a pinch bar and the wedge I8 is raised, also by the pinch bar.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be app arent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An automatic adjustable rail bracing device comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a stop member fastened to the tie plate and spaced from said rail, an adjustable brace bearing against the rail and extending in the direction of the stop member from the rail to the tie plate, said brace having an opening therein intermediate its ends, an inverted U member fastened to said tie plate and extending upwardly through said opening, the length .of the inverted U member being slightly less than the length of said opening and the width of the inverted U member being substantially less than the width of said opening, said stop member and A brace being separated to provide a space therebetween which is wider at one end than at the other, a wedge in said space bearing against said stop member 'and against said brace to hold the brace against said rail, a transverse abutment on said wedge adjacent the narrow end, a transverse abutment on said brace extending into said space adjacent the wide end thereof, a spring bearingv against both of said abutments to urge the wedge longitudinally in the direction of its narrow end, and a spring clip extending through the inverted U-member with one end bearing on the base of the rail and the other end bearing on the stop member.

2. An automatic adjustable rail bracing device comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a stop member fastened to the tie plate and spaced from said rail, an adjustable brace bearing against the rail and extending in the direction of the stop member from the rail to the tie plate, said brace having an opening therein intermediate its ends, an inverted U member fastened to-said tie plate and extending upwardly through said opening, the length of the inverted U member being slightly less than nthe length of said opening and the width of the inverted U member being substantially less than the width of said opening, said stop member and brace being separated to provide a space therebetween which is Iwider at one end than at the other, a wedge in said space bearing against said stop member and against said brace to hold the brace against said rail, said wedge having a longitudinal hole therethrough, a longitudinal opening of greater cross-section than said longitudinal hole communicating with said hole, a transverse shoulder at the end of said longitudinal opening adjacent the narrow end, a transverse abutment on said brace extending into said space adjacent the wide end thereof, a spring in said longitudinal opening bearing against said transverse shoulder and the transverse abutment of said brace to urge the wedge longitudinally in the direction of its narrow end, and a spring clip which extends through the inverted U member with one end bearing on the base of the rail and the other end bearing on the stop member.

3. An automatic adjustable rail bracing device comprising a tie plate having a, seat portion for the base of the rail, a stop member fastened to the tie plate and spaced from said rail, an adjustable brace bearing against the rail and extending in the direction of the stop Vmember from the rail to the tie plate, said brace having an opening therein intermediate its ends, an inverted U member fastened to said tie plate and extending upwardly through said opening, the length of the inverted U member being slightly less than the length of said opening and the width of the inverted U member being substantially less than the width of said opening, said stop member and brace being separated to provide a space therebetween which is wider at one end than at the other, a wedge in said space bearing against said stop member and against said brace to hold the brace against said rail, said wedge having a longitudinal hole therethrough, a longitudinal opening of greater cross-section than said longitudinal hole communicating with said hole, a transverse abutment at the end of said longitudinal opening adjacent the narrow end, a transverse abutment on said brace extending into said space adjacent the wide end thereof, a spring cone in said longitudinal opening abutting the transverse abutment on said brace, a spring bearing against the wedge abutment and said cone to urge the wedge longitudinally in the direction of its narrow end, and a spring clip lwhich extends through the inverted U member with one end bearing on the base of therail and the other end bearing on the stop member.

4, An automatic adjustable rail bracing device comprising `a, tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a stop member fastened to the tie plate and spaced from said rail, an adjustable brace bearing against the rail and extending in the direction of the stop member from the rail toward the tie plate, means for limiting longitudinal movement 0f the brace, means for limiting vertical movement of the brace, said stop member and brace being separated to provide a space therebetween which is wider at one end than at the other, a wedge in said space bearing against said stop member and against said brace to hold the brace against said rail, said wedge having a longitudinal downwardly facing opening therein terminating in a transverse abutment adjacent the narrow end, a relatively stationary transverse abutment in said space adjacent the wide end thereof, and a spring in said longitudi- Vnal opening bearing against both of said abutments to urge the wedge longitudinally in the directionv of its'narrovv end, and hold down means for holding said rail and wedge on said tie plate.

5. An automatic adjustable rail bracing device comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a stop member fastened to the tie plate andspaced from said rail, an adjustable brace bearing against the rail and eX- tending,r in the direction of the stop member from the rail toward the tie plate, means for limiting longitudinal movement of the brace, means for limiting vertical movement of the brace, said stop member and brace being separated to provide a space therebetween which is wider at one end than at the other, a Wedge in said space bearing against said stop member and against said brace to hold the brace against said rail, said wedge having a longitudinal hole therethrough, a longitudinal downwardly facing opening of greater cross-section than said longitudinal hole c ommunicating with said hole, a transverse abutment at the end of said longitudinal opening adjacent the narrow end, a transverse abutment on said brace extending into said space adjacent the wide Yend thereof, and `a spring in said longitudinal opening bearing against both'of said abutments to urge the IWedge longitudinally in the direction of its narrow end, and hold down means for holding said rail and wedge on said tie plate.

6. An automatic adjustable rail bracing device comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a stop member fastened to the tie plate and spaced from said rail, an adjustable brace bearing against the rail and extending in the direction of the stop member from 0 Number the rail toward the tie plate, means for limiting longitudinal movement of the brace, means for limiting Vertical movement of the brace, said stop member and brace being separated to provide a space therebetween which is wider at one end than at the other, a wedge in said space bearing against said stop member and against said brace to hold the brace against said rail, said wedge having a longitudinal hole therethrough, a longitudinal downwardly facing opening of greater cross-section than said longitudinal hole communicating with said hole, a transverse abutment at the end of said longitudinal opening adjacent the narrow end, a transverse abutment on said brace extending into said space adjacent the wide end thereof, a spring cone in said longitudinal opening abutting the transverse abutment on said brace, and a spring bearing against the wedge abutment and said cone to urge the wedge longitudinally in the direction of its narrow end, and hold down means for holding said rail and wedge on said tie plate.

ARTHUR R. SCHULZE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,227,853 Stull May 29, 1917 

